Soaring to Victory
by WhiteEagle1985
Summary: This is the story of what happens after Ash returns home to Pallet Town with Iris and Cilan to find people from his past waiting for him along with a mysterious package from Skyla. What happens next? Read to find out!
1. Chapter 1

**Author Notes: My first one here in a while so please enjoy, if you wish to see the story continued and my first story finished here, vote for it in my profile. Ash is 17 in this chapter and he'll be getting older as the story progresses. I'll reveal Skyla's age when I first introduce her in person. ;)**

_Chapter 1: Home, The Mysterious Package and Pikachu's Evolution_

"Just a little bit farther until we're home Pikachu," said a familiar black-haired trainer to his first Pokemon. Yes folks, Ash and his ever-loyal electric mouse had come back to Kanto after parting with their Unovan friends Cilan and Iris after the end of the Higaki Conference, where once again Ash had only managed a top eight finish. However Ash was still proud of his Pokemon, and had been thinking of what to do next.

"Pika?" asked the mouse in a slightly concerned tone. He was worried about his partner. Ever since they had left Cilan and Iris at the airport in Unova, his trainer and best friend had been silent and thinking more than he normally did.

"Don't worry buddy, I'm okay, just been thinking of what we should do next," Ash reassured his first Pokemon. "There's the hill right before Pallet, why don't we race home? I bet Mom's got a feast whipped up for us already!"

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed and hopped off his master's shoulder before racing homeward with Ash trying to keep up. As they passed by people, they heard 'Here comes our Champion!' as well as 'Welcome back Champion!' and other similar calls which confused the two of them.

When they got to the house, Ash said to his electric buddy, "I wonder what they meant by calling me 'Champion', Pikachu. Last time I checked, I hadn't won a major league."

"Pika chupika pikachu pika. Pika chu pikachu?" The mouse replied.

"Maybe you're right and they are referring to the Orange Islands or the Battle Frontier here in Kanto, but anyways let's go inside and see Mom. I bet she's got food for us!" Ash answered before opening the door and the two went inside the house. However, no Delia or Mr. Mime came to greet them when they entered the door. "That's odd, I wonder where Mom and Mr. Mime are?"

"Pika pikachu," suggested the mouse.

"Good idea buddy, let's look around and see what we can find," the black-haired trainer replied and the two split up to search the house. Soon a cry from the mouse brought Ash to the kitchen from the living room, and Pikachu handed him a note. "A note from Mom, huh? Let's see what it says Pikachu." The note said:

"Dear Ash and Pikachu,  
>After you read this note, please come to Professor Oak's for a welcome home party. We all are there waiting for you with some of your friends. Food, especially your favourites, will be there as well.<br>Can't wait to see you there honey!  
>Mom<p>

"Pika chupika pikachu!" Pikachu told his trainer eagerly.

"Yeah, good idea and maybe we can get an answer from Professor Oak about this 'Champion' business. I wonder who's at the party?" Ash replied before the two quickly left his place and headed towards the Oak Ranch and Laboratory. When they got there, Ash knocked twice on the door. A few moments later their friend Tracey opened it.

"Hey Ash and Pikachu! Glad to see you guys back from Unova! I've loved the new Pokemon that you had Professor Juniper transfer here, but come on in, the party can't start without the guests of honor!" Tracey said to his friends.

"Thanks Tracey, where's the Professor? I need to ask him a question," the black-haired trainer replied.

"Out back with your mom, your other friends, and few dignitaries. Apparently the Pokemon League made a big decision, but I am not allowed to say what it is. That's Professor Oak's job," said the former Pokemon Watcher.

"Then why are we standing around here for? I can finally get to learn about this 'Champion' business," Ash exclaimed and took off for the door that led out back while Pikachu clung to his shoulder and Tracey quickly followed them.

When they emerged into the backyard of the laboratory, a familiar voice called out, "The Champion of the Orange Islands is finally here!" Turning to see who had called, Ash was shocked to see the Leader of the Orange Crew, Drake.

"Drake, it's good to see you again!" Ash said as he walked over and offered his hand for a shake. Looking around, he saw the rest of the Orange Crew (Cissy, Danny, Rudy, and Luana), Lance, Steven, Cynthia, Alder (Ash couldn't figure out how Alder had beaten him home.), and all his former traveling companions and/or friends (Misty, Brock, May, Max, Dawn, Ritchie, Harrrison, and Gary). Also present was Professor Oak, his mother Delia, and Paul. "Harrison, Ritchie, it's been a while since I've seen either one of you!" Ash exclaimed, pleased to see them again.

"Likewise Ash, congrats!" Ritchie said.

"So Professor Oak, care to fill me in on this whole 'Champion' business?" Ash asked the resident Pokemon Professor.

"It's quite simple actually, the World Pokemon League **(A/N: WPL for short)** decided to make the Orange League an official league. You remember that when you won and came back, you learned that you couldn't have the title on your name in your record as it wasn't recognized, right?" Oak replied.

"Yeah, so I guess that's changed now right? Let me guess, I'm the champion because no one has beaten Drake yet to challenge me for the title right?" the black-haired young man asked.

"Right on both accounts, if you hand me your Pokédex, I can make the change now," Samuel replied so Ash handed over his Unova Pokédex to him and he went inside the lab to make the change.

"While I wait, I might as well release the rest of my team from Unova who I kept on me and I should give Drake here my Xtrans number, so come on out guys!" Ash called out as he threw five Pokéballs into the air. Out of them came Charizard, Boldore, Oshawott, Pignite, and Snivy. He then gave Drake a card with his number, which the Orange Crew Leader carefully put away after thanking him.

"Very impressive team there Ash, when did Charizard return to the team?" Brock asked.

"My two friends from Unova, Iris and Cilan, and I were here in Kanto taking part in a festival that honoured the starting Pokemon. I told them about Charizard, and then exchanged Unfezant with Professor Oak to get him back. He's been with me ever since, isn't that right buddy?" Ash proudly said and Charizard growled to show his agreement.

"Well congrats on being the first official champion of the Orange Islands, Ash," said Lance. "I knew there was something special about you after you helped me stop Groudon and Kyogre in Hoenn."

"Thanks Lance, that means a lot coming from you, but I knew that I was special after I helped Lugia in the Orange Islands on the way to becoming champion there. I learned I was the Chosen One then, and I think I can safely say that I'm the only trainer who's personally met all of the Legendaries of the Five Regions," Ash said with a smirk, seeing the shocked looks on everyone's faces except for his former travelling companions.

Harrison asked them, "You aren't surprised at this?"

Misty answered for them, "If you are traveling with Ash, you soon learn to expect adventure, rare Pokemon, and danger. Heck, Ash has even died once, remember that Ash and Brock?"

Ash snorted and said, "Don't remind me. I'm just glad I didn't die then, or I wouldn't have met most of the people here."

Seeing confused faces around, Brock supplied, "It happened shortly before Ash entered the Indigo League on New Island, which is off of Old Stone Wharf here in Kanto. Misty's right though, adventure and Ash are always mixed together, and usually there's a Legendary or a rare Pokémon involved. I even heard a rumour that the Pokémon Rangers are considering offering Ash here an honorary membership in their organization after all the Legendaries he's helped in the past."

When Professor Oak emerged, he gave Ash back his Unova Pokédex and said, "There, now next time you enter a League or anything that requires registration, you're title will be Champion instead of Trainer."

"Thanks a lot Professor Oak, this means a lot to me," Ash said gratefully to his mentor in Pokémon. He then smirked and added, "When Iris sees this, she'll have to quit calling me a kid!" That got a laugh from his companions until he added, "Considering she's five years younger than me, it's a serious insult to me. At least Cilan treated me with a bit more respect and I hope you meet him Brock cause his cooking is just as good as yours."

"Really? I'll have to meet him one of these days in that case," Brock replied.

"No shock here, as Cilan and his two brothers Cress and Chili run the Striaton City Gym, which doubles as a restaurant," Alder commented. "Add in the fact he's an A Class Connoisseur, and it's to be expected."

Ash's mother then butted in and said, "Speaking of Unova, I have a package for Ash that comes from that region."

"Really Mom?" Ash asked and Delia handed him a box. The address said it was Skyla, the Mistralton City Gym Leader and she had sent it to his place here in Kanto. Ash's cheeks slightly reddened as he recalled his adventure and battle with the pilot.

Brock noticed the blush and said in an inquisitive tone, "Who's it from Ash? A girl maybe?"

"What if I said yes to that second question, Brock-o? Would you be jealous of me?" Ash teased his friend.

"Nope, I've got a girlfriend these days," the Breeder told him.

"Do I know her?" the black-haired young man asked his friend.

"Yeah, you battled her once before. Remember Lucy?" the future Doctor asked his best friend.

"Lucy as in Pike Queen Lucy? I knew she was interested in you, so I'm not really surprised there, besides her battle facility isn't too far from Pewter right?" Ash asked, not a bit shocked as he continued to open the package and read the note from Skyla, causing his face to flush a deeper shade of red. It said:

Dear Ash and Pikachu,  
>Thanks for everything you did during your stay here. I couldn't have become a great Gym Leader without your inspiration and help! I sent this to you as a reminder of your time here with me and I can't wait to the both of you.<br>Love,  
>Skyla<p>

"Damn it!" Max swore.

"Max, watch your language!" May and Delia scolded him.

"Sorry, but I just lost a bet with Gary. I bet Ash would have been shocked, and he bet otherwise. Here's your ten Pokécredits, Gary," Max said as he used his own Pokédex to transfer the credits to the researcher.

"You training again Gary?" Ash asked his childhood friend and first major rival.

"On the side, as I want to be strong in case an interesting tournament pops up and I have to somehow keep up to you. I still want to be a great researcher like Grandpa here is," the young researcher told his friend.

"Good, then before I leave again, we need to have another of our battles, okay?" Ash asked.

"Count on it, and where are you going this time?" his friend asked. Everyone paid attention to Ash as he explained his plans to train a team of a specific type to be the best they could before challenging the Indigo League again except for Pikachu who saw the stone inside the opened package. He knew what would happen if he touched that stone and wanted that to happen. So he reached into the box and grabbed the Feather Stone.

"Hey, what's happening to Pikachu? Is he evolving?" Max asked, pointing to Pikachu who was glowing white and transforming.

"He's evolving, but since it wasn't a Thunderstone, I doubt he'll be evolving into a Raichu," Ash stated. "What does Pikachu evolve into when he touches a Feather Stone, Professor Oak?"

"It's unknown, so this is important research!" eagerly declared the professor as the Pokémon in question's body doubled in size and sprouted wings and the tail transformed into two flat lightning-shaped ones. The other parts of the body as grew in proportion to the body as the light finally faded away revealing the new creature.

"Soarchu!" he eagerly cried out. His colouring was the same as his previous form, but the yellow was now more golden in appearance.

"So the evolution is called Soarchu, and from the looks of it, I'd say it's a Flying and Electric type like Zapdos, Thundurus, Rotom, and Emolga," Professor Oak said. "Ash, I'll need to take some measurements before you can use him in an official match, so be sure to see me before you leave."

"I thought Rotom was an Electric and Ghost type, and I have to say that the evolution didn't harm his cuteness," Dawn said.

"It is unless it's inhabiting an object with a motor; for the Flying secondary type, it's a fan," explained Cynthia as she was familiar with the species being it native to Sinnoh. "I do have to agree with the cuteness of Soarchu."

"So did you decide what type you are going to go after on this training journey of yours, Ash?" Steven asked, getting the conversation back to where it was before the surprise evolution.

"I was going to go with Electric, as he was only that type before, but now I think I'll go with Flying types, as he's part that type now and I have quite a few already here that I can take with me and make stronger like Gliscor, Staraptor, Unfezant, Charizard, Soarchu here, and Swellow. I'm also going to see if my old Pidgeot I released into the nearby forest to protect the flocks from the Spearow and their Fearow leader wants to come back to the team. I'll probably leave in a few days, as I want to relax after my journey home," the black-haired Champion of the Orange Islands told the Hoenn Champion and the others. "By the way, congrats on regaining your old championship, I saw the battle on TV in Unova. It was a very well fought match. Both my friends in Unova and the other trainers in the center there were impressed."

"Thanks Ash. I appreciate the compliment," Steven said. "Now let's enjoy your party!" And that's what they did for the rest of the afternoon, with everyone complimenting Ash's mother on the food who was pleased by their praise.

**A/N: Next chapter will be after a small time skip as Ash will be leaving on his new journey to become a Flying-type Master! Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

**A/N: Greetings my loyal readers! I'm back with the second chapter of this excellent story. Before I get into the story, I'd like to share an email with you that I received about this story and my response to it:**

**Hey I like your story "Searing to Victory" so can please hurry up and post the next chapter or turn it into a Advanceshipping story.**

**My response is this: As to the timing of each chapter, I have more than this story to work on, plus I also work a Part-time job at the moment where my hours can range between 20 and 30+ each week, so sometimes I'm just too tired to write or lack inspiration. As to the shipping, I decide that usually before I start each story and will stick with the shipping I chose for this story. People who prefer other shippings may not like that, but that's the way I write. Also, you spelled the first word of this story incorrectly. Another review (when this story was posted elsewhere) mentioned the Feather Stone as not being found in the games, manga, or amine, and my response it is an original item I created for the purposes of this story, just like I came up with Soarchu as the alternate evolution to Raichu for Pikachu.**

**Oh and I'd like to thank Dimension Traveler for agreeing to Beta-read this story. He says that Ash's female companions are all in 'the friend zone' and for this story, I agree with him. Other stories I am willing to say that friendship can be the first step to romance. ;)**

**Now on to chapter 2, and once again, I don't own Pokemon, just my OC Pokemon Soarchu and the Feather Stone unless they decide to add either one to a future version of the game or anime.**

[One week later]  
>Ash and Soarchu were on the back of Charizard heading for Rota and Cameron Palace nearby. The young man had gotten back Butterfree and Pidgeot to the team, as well as adding Butterfree's mate. Ash had also captured a Magikarp seeing that it's evolution was part Flying-type. Ash had caught the Water-type near Pewter in the forest, but had not stopped to see Brock. He was also going to avoid Cerulean for a while as he also didn't want to risk Misty or her sisters hurting him or trying to convince him to date Misty. He still remembered the events of the discussion he had with the Cerulean Gym Leader as if it had happened just a few moments ago.<p>

[Flashback]  
>Ash was busy observing his Pokemon during their training the afternoon after the party to celebrate his official championship status, his good performance in Unova's conference, and his seventeenth birthday. That morning he had gone into the forest around Pallet Town on the route to Viridian and had reunited with both Pidgeot and his old Butterfree. Butterfree's mate had also wanted him to capture her, so he had agreed and done so.<p>

He noticed Misty coming over to him by herself. 'I wonder what she wants,' he thought to himself before he called out to his friend, "Hey Mist. What are you doing here? I thought you would be heading back to Cerulean and the gym by now."

"I stayed around because I finally have the willpower to confess something to you," Misty said calmly.

"What do you have to confess to me about?" Ash asked, a curious tone in his voice.

"I really like you Ash. Not just as a friend, but as someone I'm in love with. Please say you feel the same way about me as I do about you," Misty blurted out, blushing as she confessed her feeling to him.

"I'm sorry Misty, but I don't like you like that. You are more of a sister, like Brock and Cilan are like my older brothers, and Iris is like a younger sister to me. I knew you had feelings for me, but ignored acting on them, because I hoped they were only you having a crush on me," the raven-haired young man said to the orange-haired young woman, who started crying. "I am in love with someone, but I won't say who until I can confess to her in person about how I feel about her."

"Is it May or Dawn?" the gym leader asked.

"No, they are like students to me. Max probably won't be happy, because I'm confident he prefers me as his sister's date, but I can't see either of them that way. Like I said Misty, I won't say who until I can confess to her myself," Ash stated calmly. Misty turned around and ran away then, clearly upset as she was crying as she ran. When Ash got home later, he learned that she had headed home without telling anyone why. Later, Ash told Cilan and Brock what had happened, and they all agreed that it could not have gone any better, just worse. Brock pointed out that Ash should be grateful she didn't hit him with her mallet, which got the raven-haired champion to wonder where she kept it. Neither of his companions could answer that, so they decided to leave that topic alone.

[/Flashback]  
>When Soarchu asked him if Ash was alright, he responded, "Just fine buddy. I'm just remembering how my last encounter with Misty ended." Ash then began to remember how he had gotten his first Legendary Flying-type, which caused him to touch the black and gold Pokéball on his necklace.<p>

[Flashback]  
>Ash and Soarchu were on the back of Pidgeot between Pewter and Cerulean when they saw two Rayquazas fighting nearby, however one was a shiny black and gold that was smaller than the standard green and gold one. Suddenly the bigger one blasted the smaller one with a powerful looking Dragon Pulse which caused it to crash into the earth. The bigger one roared in apparent triumph before flying off. Ash decided to go help the wounded Legendary so he said, "Pidgeot, land nearby that crashed Rayquaza, I want to try and help it."<p>

Pidgeot did so and after she (A/N: It's not stated, so I've decided to make her a female.) had landed, Ash hopped off and went over to examine the wounded creature. The Rayquaza turned her head and saw the Chosen One looking over her injuries. _"Ch-ch-chosen One? Why are you here?"_

Ash heard the female voice in his head and guessing it was the Legendary said, "I saw your fight and crash, and wanted to help you. Please call me Ash, as that is my name."

She nodded and replied, _"Your help is most welcome,"_ she then added, in a smaller voice as she turned her head so she was facing the young man at an angle, _"I wish I was stronger..."_

The young man replied, in response to her soft voiced request, "If you want, you could come with me and I'll train you to become the strongest member of your species and someone nobody will ever forget. Do you have a name? I don't like just calling you 'she' or 'Lady Rayquaza' because I feel it doesn't give you enough respect."

_"Ash, you may call me Ebony as that is my name, and I'd be honoured to become your Pokemon and a member of your team. I give you permission to capture me,"_ Ebony told Ash, bowing her head in respect to her soon-to-be master.

"Thank you Lady Ebony, and I promise you won't regret your decision," he said to her before taking out one of his Pokéballs, enlarging it, and tapping her gently on the head. The ball didn't even wobble, considering she wasn't putting up a struggle against it, it only dinged, signifying the capture. As soon as the capture was complete, the colour of the ball changed from red and white to black and gold. "That must happen whenever you catch a Legendary," the Champion said to his other Pokemon. He then took out a special necklace he had gotten and clipped the ball to it before placing it around his neck before getting back on Pidgeot's back. They had then taken off for the Pokemon Center at Mt. Moon to get their newest teammate healed of her injuries.

[/Flashback]  
>"Say Soarchu, isn't it the time of year when Rota has that tournament in honour of Sir Aaron's memory?" he asked his best Pokemon friend.<p>

"Soar soarchu?" the mouse asked.

"It would be the first opportunity to challenge our training so far, and we could pay a visit to the tree afterwards," the champion replied.

"Soar!" the mouse replied, excited at the chance to test it's new form in a battle.

"Then Charizard let's go, we don't want to be late to register!" Ash cried out eagerly and Charizard sped up, looking forward to the battles to come.

**A/N: Remember to vote for this story if you want me to continue it! Poll closes January 1st, so until then, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!**


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